100 Notable alumni of
University of Massachusetts - Amherst
Updated:
The University of Massachusetts - Amherst is 171st in the world, 77th in North America, and 74th in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 100 notable alumni from the University of Massachusetts - Amherst sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff.
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Richard Gere
- Occupations
- photographerfilm directorvoice actorstage actorhuman rights activist
- Biography
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Richard Tiffany Gere is an American actor. He began appearing in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977) and a starring role in Days of Heaven (1978). Gere came to prominence with his role in the film American Gigolo (1980), which established him as a leading man and a sex symbol. Gere's other films include An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), The Cotton Club (1984), No Mercy (1986), Pretty Woman (1990), Sommersby (1993), Intersection (1994), First Knight (1995), Primal Fear (1996), Runaway Bride (1999), Dr. T & the Women (2000), Shall We Dance? (2004), I'm Not There (2007), Arbitrage (2012) and Norman (2016). For portraying Billy Flynn in the musical Chicago (2002), he won a Golden Globe Award.
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Bill Cosby
- Occupations
- writerscreenwritercomposerfilm producerfilm actor
- Biography
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William Henry Cosby Jr. is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy star, with his longest-running live-action role being that of Cliff Huxtable in the sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992). He also released several stand-up comedy albums and was a popular spokesperson in advertising for decades. Cosby was well known in the United States for his fatherly image and gained a reputation as "America's Dad". Since 2014, dozens of allegations of sexual assault have been made against him.
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Liev Schreiber
- Occupations
- screenwriterfilm directorvoice actorstage actoractor
- Biography
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Isaac Liev Schreiber is an American actor. He has received numerous accolades including a Tony Award as well as nominations for nine Primetime Emmy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards.
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Bill Pullman
- Occupations
- film producerfilm actorstage actorfilm directortelevision actor
- Biography
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William Pullman is an American actor. After graduating with a Master of Fine Arts degree in theater, he was an adjunct professor at Montana State University before deciding to pursue acting.
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Natalie Cole
- Occupations
- writersinger-songwritercomposerpianisttelevision actor
- Biography
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Natalie Maria Cole was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to prominence in the mid-1970s, with the release of her debut album Inseparable (1975), along with the song "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)", and the album's title track. Its success led to her receiving the Grammy Award for Best New Artist at the 18th Annual Grammy Awards, for which she became the first African-American recipient as well as the first R&B act to win the award. The singles "Sophisticated Lady" (1976), "I've Got Love on My Mind", and "Our Love" (1977) followed.
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Julius Erving
- Occupations
- businesspersonactorbasketball player
- Biography
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Julius Winfield Erving II, commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player in that league when it merged into the National Basketball Association (NBA) after the 1975–1976 season.
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Jeffrey Donovan
- Occupations
- stage actorfilm produceractortelevision actortelevision director
- Biography
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Jeffrey Donovan is an American actor. He has played Michael Westen in the television series Burn Notice, and appeared in films such as Hitch, Believe in Me, Changeling, and Come Early Morning. He played Robert F. Kennedy in Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar (2011) and his brother John F. Kennedy in Rob Reiner's LBJ (2016). He had a recurring role in the second season of the TV series Fargo (2015). From 2022 to 2023, he starred as NYPD Detective Frank Cosgrove on the revival of the NBC crime drama Law & Order. He left the show before the 23rd season due to creative differences.
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John F. Kelly
- Occupations
- politicianmilitary officer
- Biography
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John Francis Kelly is an American former political advisor and retired U.S. Marine Corps general who was White House chief of staff for President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2019. He had previously been the secretary of homeland security in the Trump administration and was commander of United States Southern Command. Kelly is a board member at Caliburn International, a professional services provider.
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Rick Pitino
- Occupations
- basketball coachbasketball player
- Biography
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Richard Andrew Pitino is an American basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at St. John's University. He was also the head coach of Greece's senior national team. He has been the head coach of several teams in NCAA Division I and in the NBA, including Boston University (1978–1983), Providence College (1985–1987), the New York Knicks (1987–1989), the University of Kentucky (1989–1997), the Boston Celtics (1997–2001), the University of Louisville (2001–2017), Panathinaikos of the Greek Basket League and EuroLeague (2018–2020), and Iona University (2020–2023).
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Ted Hughes
- Occupations
- playwrightastrologerchildren's writerwritertranslator
- Biography
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Edward James Hughes OM OBE FRSL was an English poet, translator, and children's writer. Critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation and one of the twentieth century's greatest writers. He was appointed Poet Laureate in 1984 and held the office until his death. In 2008, The Times ranked Hughes fourth on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".
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Fardeen Khan
- Occupations
- film actor
- Biography
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Fardeen Khan is an Indian actor who mainly works in Hindi films. Born to actor and film producer Feroz Khan, he is part of the Khan family. He made his acting debut in the film Prem Aggan (1998), for which he won the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut.
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James Foley
- Occupations
- photojournalistjournalistteacher
- Biography
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James Wright Foley was an American journalist and video reporter. While working as a freelance war correspondent during the Syrian Civil War, he was abducted on November 22, 2012, in northwestern Syria. He was murdered by decapitation in August 2014 purportedly as a response to American airstrikes in Iraq, thus becoming the first American citizen executed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
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Jack Welch
- Occupations
- engineerjournalistwriterbusinesspersonentrepreneur
- Biography
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John Francis Welch Jr. was an American business executive, chemical engineer, and writer. He was Chairman and CEO of General Electric (GE) between 1981 and 2001.
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Betty Shabazz
- Occupations
- nursehuman rights activist
- Biography
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Betty Shabazz, also known as Betty X, was an American educator and civil rights advocate. She was married to Malcolm X.
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Rob Corddry
- Occupations
- screenwriterexecutive producervoice actortelevision directoractor
- Biography
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Robert William Corddry is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his work as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (2002–2006) and for his starring role in the film Hot Tub Time Machine. He is the creator and star of Adult Swim's Childrens Hospital and has been awarded four Primetime Emmy Awards. He previously starred in the HBO series Ballers and the CBS comedy The Unicorn.
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Buffy Sainte-Marie
- Enrolled in the University of Massachusetts - Amherst
- Studied Eastern philosophy and pedagogy
- Occupations
- singer-songwritercomposerrecord producervisual artistsinger
- Biography
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Buffy Sainte-Marie, is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and social activist.
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Paul Theroux
- Occupations
- travel writerliterary criticscreenwriternovelistprofessor
- Biography
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Paul Edward Theroux is an American novelist and travel writer who has written numerous books, including the travelogue The Great Railway Bazaar (1975). Some of his works of fiction have been adapted as feature films. He was awarded the 1981 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his novel The Mosquito Coast, which was adapted for the 1986 movie of the same name and the 2021 television series of the same name.
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Camille Cosby
- Occupations
- writertelevision producer
- Biography
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Camille Olivia Cosby is an American television producer, philanthropist, and the wife of comedian Bill Cosby. The character of Clair Huxtable from The Cosby Show was based on her. Cosby has avoided public life, but has been active in her husband's businesses as a manager, as well as involving herself in academia and writing. In 1990, Cosby earned a master's degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, followed by a Doctorate of Education (Ed.D.) in 1992.
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Lynn Margulis
- Occupations
- zoologistlecturerevolutionary biologistecologistbotanist
- Biography
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Lynn Margulis was an American evolutionary biologist, and was the primary modern proponent for the significance of symbiosis in evolution. In particular, Margulis transformed and fundamentally framed current understanding of the evolution of cells with nuclei by proposing it to have been the result of symbiotic mergers of bacteria. Margulis was also the co-developer of the Gaia hypothesis with the British chemist James Lovelock, proposing that the Earth functions as a single self-regulating system, and was the principal defender and promulgator of the five kingdom classification of Robert Whittaker.
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Black Francis
- Occupations
- record producermusiciansingerguitaristsinger-songwriter
- Biography
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Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. Following the band's breakup in 1993, he embarked on a solo career under the name Frank Black. After releasing two albums with record label 4AD and one with American Recordings, he left the label and formed a new band, Frank Black and the Catholics. He re-adopted the name Black Francis in 2007.
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Taj Mahal
- Occupations
- recording artistcomposerguitaristblues musicianpianist
- Biography
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Henry St. Claire Fredericks Jr., better known by his stage name Taj Mahal, is an American blues musician. He plays the guitar, piano, banjo, harmonica, and many other instruments, often incorporating elements of world music into his work. Mahal has done much to reshape the definition and scope of blues music over the course of his more than 50-year career by fusing it with nontraditional forms, including sounds from the Caribbean, Africa, India, Hawaii, and the South Pacific.
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Marcus Camby
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Marcus Dion Camby is an American former professional basketball player who played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was named Defensive Player of the Year during the 2006–07 NBA season, leading the league in blocked shots per game. Camby is also a four-time member of the NBA All-Defensive Team and is 12th on the NBA's all-time career blocks list.
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Hina Rabbani Khar
- Occupations
- politicianeconomistentrepreneurdiplomat
- Biography
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Hina Rabbani Khar is a Pakistani politician, who served as the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs since 19 April 2022 till 10 August 2023. She was previously appointed in July 2011 as the Foreign Minister of Pakistan, she was the first woman to have held the position. Khar had been a member of the National Assembly from August 2018 to August 2023.
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Phil Laak
- Occupations
- poker player
- Biography
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Philip Courtney Laak is an Irish-American professional poker player and a poker commentator, now residing in Los Angeles, California. Laak holds a World Poker Tour (WPT) title, a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet, and has appeared on numerous nationally aired television shows.
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Chuck Close
- Occupations
- draftspersonphotographerprintmakerpaintercollagist
- Biography
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Charles Thomas Close was an American painter, visual artist, and photographer who made massive-scale photorealist and abstract portraits of himself and others. Close also created photo portraits using a very large format camera. He adapted his painting style and working methods in 1988, after being paralyzed by an occlusion of the anterior spinal artery.
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Cale Makar
- Occupations
- ice hockey player
- Biography
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Cale Douglas Makar is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected with the fourth overall pick by the Avalanche in the 2017 NHL entry draft.
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David Berman
- Enrolled in the University of Massachusetts - Amherst
- 1993-1995 graduated with Master of Fine Arts
- Occupations
- cartoonistsingerpoet
- Biography
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David Cloud Berman was an American musician, singer-songwriter and poet. In 1989, he founded – and was the only constant member of – the indie rock band Silver Jews with Pavement's Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich.
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Bill Bulger
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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William Michael Bulger is an American former Democratic politician, lawyer, and educator from South Boston, Massachusetts. His eighteen-year tenure as President of the Massachusetts Senate is the longest in history. After leaving office, he became president of the University of Massachusetts.
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David Pakman
- Occupations
- television producerradio personalitypoliticianYouTuberjournalist
- Biography
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David Pakman is an American talk show host and a left-wing political commentator. He is the host of the talk radio program The David Pakman Show. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and is a naturalized citizen of the United States.
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Richard D. Wolff
- Occupations
- university teachereconomist
- Biography
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Richard David Wolff is an American Marxian economist known for his work on economic methodology and class analysis. He is a professor emeritus of economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a visiting professor in the graduate program in international affairs of the New School. Wolff has also taught economics at Yale University, City University of New York, University of Utah, University of Paris I (Sorbonne), and The Brecht Forum in New York City.
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Max Roach
- Occupations
- recording artistbandleaderjazz musiciancomposeruniversity teacher
- Biography
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Maxwell Lemuel Roach was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He worked with many famous jazz musicians, including Clifford Brown, Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Abbey Lincoln, Dinah Washington, Charles Mingus, Billy Eckstine, Stan Getz, Sonny Rollins, Eric Dolphy, and Booker Little. He also played with his daughter Maxine Roach, a Grammy nominated violist. He was inducted into the DownBeat Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1992.
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Minouche Shafik
- Occupations
- economist
- Biography
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Nemat Talaat Shafik, Baroness Shafik, commonly known as Minouche Shafik, is a British-American academic and economist. She served as the president and vice chancellor of the London School of Economics from 2017 to 2023, and then as the 20th president of Columbia University from July 2023 to August 2024.
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J Mascis
- Occupations
- singer-songwriterfilm producerguitaristfilm actortelevision actor
- Biography
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Joseph Donald Mascis Jr., better known as J Mascis, is an American musician who is the singer, guitarist and main songwriter for the alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. He has also released several albums as a solo artist and played drums and guitar on other projects. He was ranked number 74 in a Rolling Stone list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists", and number 5 in a similar list for Spin magazine in 2012.
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Norm Abram
- Occupations
- carpentertelevision personality
- Biography
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Norm Abram is an American carpenter, writer, and television host best known for his work on the PBS television programs This Old House and The New Yankee Workshop. He is a Master carpenter and has published several books and articles about the craft.
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William Smith Clark
- Occupations
- politicianchemistbotanistbotanical collectorwriter
- Biography
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William Smith Clark was an American professor of chemistry, botany, and zoology; a colonel during the American Civil War; and a leader in agricultural education. Raised and schooled in Easthampton, Massachusetts, Clark spent most of his adult life in Amherst, Massachusetts. He graduated from Amherst College in 1848 and obtained a doctorate in chemistry from Georgia Augusta University in Göttingen in 1852. He then served as professor of chemistry at Amherst College from 1852 to 1867. During the Civil War, he was granted leave from Amherst to serve with the 21st Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, eventually achieving the rank of colonel and the command of that unit.
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Marilynne Robinson
- Occupations
- writerscience fiction writernovelistessayist
- Biography
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Marilynne Summers Robinson is an American novelist and essayist. Across her writing career, Robinson has received numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2005, National Humanities Medal in 2012, and the 2016 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction. In 2016, Robinson was named in Time magazine's list of 100 most influential people. Robinson began teaching at the Iowa Writers' Workshop in 1991 and retired in the spring of 2016.
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Jonathan Quick
- Occupations
- ice hockey player
- Biography
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Jonathan Douglas Quick is an American professional ice hockey goaltender for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Quick was selected in the third round, 72nd overall, by the Los Angeles Kings at the 2005 NHL entry draft.
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Samuel R. Delany
- Occupations
- literary criticjournalistcartoonistscience fiction writerwriter
- Biography
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Samuel R. "Chip" Delany is an American writer and literary critic. His work includes fiction (especially science fiction), memoir, criticism, and essays on science fiction, literature, sexuality, and society.
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Roxanne Modafferi
- Occupations
- judokamixed martial arts fighter
- Biography
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Roxanne Vincenta Modafferi is an American retired mixed martial artist, who most recently fought for the UFC. Though she last fought in the flyweight division, she has fought in multiple weight classes in her career. She has been a professional competitor since 2003.
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John B. Anderson
- Occupations
- university teacherpolitician
- Biography
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John Bayard Anderson was an American lawyer and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives, representing Illinois's 16th congressional district from 1961 to 1981. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as the Chairman of the House Republican Conference from 1969 until 1979. In 1980, he ran an independent campaign for president, receiving 6.6% of the popular vote.
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Kenny Aronoff
- Occupations
- musiciandrummer
- Biography
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Kenneth D. Aronoff is an American drummer, best known for his work as a session and touring musician. He has toured and recorded with a wide range of artists throughout his career, including The Rolling Stones, The Smashing Pumpkins, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Sting, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Pharell Williams, Lenny Kravitz, Bob Dylan, Jon Bon Jovi, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton, Dave Grohl, Jack White, Garth Brooks, Alanis Morissette, Johnny Cash, Avril Lavigne, Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Beyoncé, Mick Jagger, Ray Charles, Alice Cooper, Meat Loaf, Santana, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Celine Dion, Bob Seger, Willie Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and others.
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Kang Kyung-hwa
- Occupations
- diplomatpolitician
- Biography
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Kang Kyung-wha is a South Korean diplomat and politician who was the first female Foreign Minister of South Korea under President Moon Jae-in from 2017-21 as well as the first woman nominated for and appointed to the position. She is also the first Korean woman to hold a high-level position in the United Nations. Previously, Kang was the first non-exam-taker to become a director-general at the ministry. She is the first South Korean foreign minister to join the official South Korean delegation for the inter-Korean summit as well as to visit Pyongyang. Kang now serves as the president and CEO of the Asia Society.
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Anshu Jain
- Occupations
- bankerbusiness executive
- Biography
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Anshuman Jain was an Indian-born British business executive. From 2017 to 2022, he was the president of the American financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald.
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Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar is an Indian politician and a royal scion from the Wadiyar dynasty, currently serving as a Member of Parliament for Mysore since 2024. The great-grandson of Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, Yaduveer Wadiyar was adopted on 10 December 2013 by Pramoda Devi Wadiyar after the demise of her husband Srikantadatta Wadiyar. He was installed as the titular, "Maharaja of Mysore" in a private ceremony in 2015.
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Frederick Heyliger
- Occupations
- military officer
- Biography
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Frederick Theodore "Moose" Heyliger was an American military officer who served with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment in the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army during World War II. He took part in D-Day and Operation Market Garden, before being discharged due to injury sustained from friendly fire.
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Jeff Corwin
- Occupations
- television producerconservationistecologistfilm actoractor
- Biography
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Jeffrey Corwin is an American biologist and wildlife conservationist, known for hosting Disney Channel's Going Wild with Jeff Corwin, The Jeff Corwin Experience on Animal Planet, ABC's Ocean Mysteries with Jeff Corwin/Ocean Treks with Jeff Corwin and Wildlife Nation with Jeff Corwin.
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John Legere
- Years
- 1958-.. (age 67)
- Occupations
- businessperson
- Biography
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John Legere is an American businessman, former chief executive officer (CEO) and president of T-Mobile US. He previously worked for AT&T, Dell, and Global Crossing. He resigned as CEO following the approval of the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint.
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Kenneth Feinberg
- Occupations
- lawyer
- Biography
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Kenneth Roy Feinberg is an American attorney specializing in mediation and alternative dispute resolution. He served as the Chief of Staff to Senator Ted Kennedy, Special Master of the U.S. government's September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and the Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation. Additionally, Feinberg served as the government-appointed administrator of the BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster Victim Compensation Fund. Feinberg was also appointed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to administer the One Fund—the victim assistance fund established in the wake of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. Feinberg was also retained by General Motors to assist in their recall response and by Volkswagen to oversee their U.S. compensation of VW diesel owners affected by the Volkswagen emissions scandal. Feinberg was hired by The Boeing Company in July 2019, to oversee distribution of $50 million to support 737 MAX crash victim families. Feinberg is also an adjunct professor at the Columbia University School of Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School, Georgetown University Law Center, New York University School of Law, the University of Virginia School of Law and at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.
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Hau Lung-pin
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Hau Lung-pin is a Taiwanese politician and chemist. As a member of the New Party, he was elected to the Legislative Yuan in 1995, and resigned his seat to lead the Environmental Protection Administration in 2001. Hau stepped down from the EPA in 2003 and served as Mayor of Taipei from 2006 to 2014. He joined the Kuomintang (KMT) in 2006 and has served as vice chairman of the party in 2014 and from 2016 to 2020.
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Dana Gould
- Occupations
- screenwritertelevision actoractorwritervoice actor
- Biography
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Dana Gould is an American stand-up comic, actor, writer, and voice artist who has been featured on HBO, Showtime, and Comedy Central. He voiced the titular character in the Gex franchise, and wrote for The Simpsons between 2001 and 2007.
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Peter Laird
- Occupations
- screenwriterdraftspersonwritercomics artist
- Biography
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Peter Alan Laird is an American comic book writer and artist. He is best known for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with writer and artist Kevin Eastman.
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Amy Cuddy
- Enrolled in the University of Massachusetts - Amherst
- 1999-2000 studied social psychology
- Occupations
- university teacherpsychologist
- Biography
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Amy Joy Casselberry Cuddy is an American social psychologist, author and speaker. She is a proponent of "power posing", a self-improvement technique whose scientific validity has been questioned. She has served as a faculty member at Rutgers University, Kellogg School of Management and Harvard Business School. Cuddy's most cited academic work involves using the stereotype content model that she helped develop to better understand the way people think about stereotyped people and groups. Though Cuddy left her tenure-track position at Harvard Business School in the spring of 2017, she continues to contribute to its executive education programs.
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Yusef Lateef
- Occupations
- oboistrecording artistnon-fiction writercomposeruniversity teacher
- Biography
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Yusef Abdul Lateef was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and prominent figure among the Ahmadiyya Community in the United States.
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Monica Gill
- Occupations
- modelactorbeauty pageant contestant
- Biography
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Monica Gill is an American model, actress and beauty pageant titleholder. She won the Miss India Worldwide 2014 on 21 June 2014. She is also Miss India USA winner on 26 November 2013 while serving as Miss India New England. In 2015, she participated in MTV India show India's Next Top Model.
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Augusten Burroughs
- Occupations
- writerjournalistnovelist
- Biography
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Augusten Xon Burroughs is an American writer best known for his New York Times bestselling memoir Running with Scissors (2002).
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Joey Santiago
- Occupations
- composerguitarist
- Biography
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Joseph Alberto Santiago is a Filipino-American guitarist and composer. Active since 1986, Santiago is best known as the co-founder and lead guitarist of the alternative rock band Pixies. After the band's breakup in 1993, Santiago produced musical scores for film and television documentaries, and he formed The Martinis with his ex-wife, Linda Mallari. He also contributed to albums by Charles Douglas and former Pixies band-mate Frank Black. Santiago resumed his role as the Pixies' lead guitarist when they reunited in 2004.
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Neal Brown
- Occupations
- American football coachhead coachAmerican football player
- Biography
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Neal Brown is an American college football coach and former player. He was most recently the head football coach at West Virginia University from 2019–2024. Brown was previously the head coach at Troy University from 2015 to 2018. Brown also previously served as the offensive coordinator at Troy (2008–2009), Texas Tech University (2010–2012), and the University of Kentucky (2013–2014).
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Archie Shepp
- Occupations
- recording artistsaxophonistcomposerjazz musicianuniversity teacher
- Biography
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Archie Shepp is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz.
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Michael E. Mann
- Occupations
- geophysicistclimatologistmeteorologistnon-fiction writeruniversity teacher
- Biography
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Michael Evan Mann is an American climatologist and geophysicist. He is the director of the Center for Science, Sustainability & the Media at the University of Pennsylvania. Mann has contributed to the scientific understanding of historic climate change based on the temperature record of the past thousand years. He has pioneered techniques to find patterns in past climate change and to isolate climate signals from noisy data.
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Makaziwe Mandela
- Occupations
- anthropologistbusinessperson
- Biography
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Pumla Makaziwe "Maki" Mandela-Amuah is the daughter of Nelson Mandela and his first wife Evelyn Mase.
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William Monahan
- Occupations
- film directorjournalistcriticscreenwriterwriter
- Biography
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William J. Monahan is an American screenwriter and novelist. His second produced screenplay was The Departed, a film that earned him a Writers Guild of America Award and Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
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Vernon L. Smith
- Occupations
- university teachereconomist
- Biography
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Vernon Lomax Smith is an American economist who is currently a professor of economics and law at Chapman University. He was formerly the McLellan/Regent’s Professor of Economics at the University of Arizona, a professor of economics and law at George Mason University, and a board member of the Mercatus Center. Along with Daniel Kahneman, Smith won the 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to behavioral economics and his work in the field of experimental economics, which helped establish “laboratory experiments as a tool in empirical economic analysis, especially in the study of alternative market mechanisms”.
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Robert Epstein
- Occupations
- historianpsychologist
- Biography
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Robert Epstein is an American psychologist, professor, author, and journalist. He was awarded a Ph.D. in psychology by Harvard University in 1981, was editor-in-chief of Psychology Today, and has held positions at several universities including Boston University, University of California, San Diego, and Harvard University. He is also the founder and director emeritus of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies in Concord, MA. In 2012, he founded the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology (AIBRT), a nonprofit organization that conducts research to promote the well-being and functioning of people worldwide.
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Audie Cornish
- Occupations
- journalistradio personality
- Biography
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Audie N. Cornish is an American journalist and a former co-host of NPR's All Things Considered. She is an anchor and correspondent for CNN and the host of The Assignment, a CNN Audio podcast. She was previously the host of Profile by BuzzFeed News, a web-only interview show that lasted one season, as well as NPR Presents, a long-form conversation series with creatives about their projects, processes, and shaping culture in America.
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Jenny Dell
- Occupations
- journalist
- Biography
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Jennifer Sheryl Dell–Middlebrooks is the lead college football reporter for CBS Sports. Dell previously worked as CBS’ #2 NFL sideline reporter in 2014. She also has worked for New England Sports Network (NESN) covering the Boston Red Sox. Since 2016, she has also been the co-host of the food show Campus Eats alongside Troy Johnson on the Big Ten Network.
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L. Fletcher Prouty
- Occupations
- bankermilitary officer
- Biography
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Leroy Fletcher Prouty served as Chief of Special Operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President John F. Kennedy. A colonel in the United States Air Force, he retired from military service to become a bank executive. He subsequently became a critic of U.S. foreign policy, particularly the covert activities of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which he believed was working on behalf of a secret world elite.
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Ishmael Butler
- Occupations
- basketball playermusician
- Biography
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Ishmael Reginald Butler is an American rapper, record producer and songwriter. He is best known for his work with such groups as Digable Planets in the 1990s and Shabazz Palaces in the 2010s.
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Brandon Montour
- Occupations
- ice hockey player
- Biography
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Brandon Montour is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman presently playing for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). Montour was selected by the Anaheim Ducks in the second round, 55th overall, of the 2014 NHL entry draft. Montour won the Stanley Cup with the Panthers in 2024.
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Pearl Davis
- Occupations
- YouTuber
- Biography
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Hannah Pearl Davis, is an American YouTuber and cultural and political commentator. She is better known online by the nom de plume JustPearlyThings or Pearl. Davis is known primarily for her cultural and political commentary relating to modern sex relations, dating and marriage. She is an advocate of traditional dating and marital relations and is critical of modern dating relations and the effect of dating apps and feminism. Davis argues that modern women have been deceived by a dysfunctional culture of sex and dating and that they should embrace traditional approaches to dating and marriage to achieve long-term happiness. Much of her commentary is critical of modern female approaches to dating and sex and the effects of feminism. Critics of her commentary have alleged that her positions and criticisms are "misogynistic".
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Briana Scurry
- Occupations
- association football player
- Biography
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Briana Collette Scurry is an American retired soccer goalkeeper. Scurry was the starting goalkeeper for the United States women's national soccer team at the 1995 World Cup (3rd place), 1996 Summer Olympics (gold medal), 1999 World Cup (champions), 2003 World Cup (3rd place), and the 2004 Summer Olympic Games (gold medal). She played in the semi-final and playoff for third place in the 2007 Women's World Cup (3rd place). She was a founding member of the WUSA, playing three seasons as starting goalkeeper for the Atlanta Beat (2001–2003).
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J.B. Bernstein
- Occupations
- businessperson
- Biography
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J.B. Bernstein is the CEO of Access Group, an athlete management firm and chief marketing officer of Seven Figures Management, a sports marketing and athlete representation firm.
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Melinda Katz
- Occupations
- lawyerpolitician
- Biography
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Melinda R. Katz is an American attorney and politician from New York City, serving as District Attorney of Queens since January 1, 2020. A Democrat, she previously served as the Queens Borough President. Katz was also a New York City Councilwoman from 2002 to 2009. She had previously run for City Comptroller in 2009. In June 2019, Katz won the Democratic nomination for Queens County's District Attorney, and won the general election in November 2019.
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Ben Cherington
- Occupations
- baseball manager
- Biography
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Benjamin P. Cherington is an American baseball executive serving as the general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB) since November 2019. He previously served as the vice-president of baseball operations for the Toronto Blue Jays, and was the executive vice president and general manager of the Boston Red Sox from 2011 to 2015. He succeeded Theo Epstein in that position, having worked in the team's baseball operations office since 1999, before Epstein's arrival.
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Kamila Shamsie
- Occupations
- writernovelist
- Biography
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Kamila Shamsie FRSL is a Pakistani and British writer and novelist who is best known for her award-winning novel Home Fire (2017). Named on Granta magazine's list of 20 best young British writers, Shamsie has been described by The New Indian Express as "a novelist to reckon with and to look forward to." She also writes for publications including The Guardian, New Statesman, Index on Censorship and Prospect, and broadcasts on radio.
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Rachael Rollins
- Occupations
- lawyer
- Biography
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Rachael Splaine Rollins is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. attorney for District of Massachusetts from 2022 to 2023. Before that, she was the district attorney for Suffolk County, Massachusetts.
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Conor Sheary
- Occupations
- ice hockey player
- Biography
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Conor Michael Sheary is an American professional ice hockey winger who is currently playing for the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2014 and won back-to-back Stanley Cups in his first two seasons with the organization. Sheary has also played for the Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals.
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William Manchester
- Enrolled in the University of Massachusetts - Amherst
- In 1946 graduated with BA
- Occupations
- professorauthorbiographerwriterhistorian
- Biography
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William Raymond Manchester was an American author, biographer, and historian. He was the author of 18 books which have been translated into over 20 languages. He was awarded the National Humanities Medal and the Abraham Lincoln Literary Award.
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Greg LaRocca
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Gregory Mark LaRocca is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) second baseman who played for the San Diego Padres and Cleveland Indians between 2000 and 2003. He also played in the Nippon Professional Baseball league from 2004 to 2010.
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Stephane Lasme
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Yann Ulrich Stéphane Lasme is a Gabonese former professional basketball player. He played college basketball at the University of Massachusetts (UMass), with the UMass Minutemen, and he was selected by the Golden State Warriors in the second round, 46th overall, in the 2007 NBA draft. In 2016 Stephane won the EuroCup Championship and earned the Finals MVP award, as well as, an All-EuroLeague Second Team selection in 2014 and won the EuroLeague Best Defender award in 2013, among others.
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Becca Balint
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Rebecca A. Balint is an American politician who is a member of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont's at-large congressional district as a member of the Democratic Party. She served as a member of the Vermont Senate from Windham County from 2015 to 2023, as majority leader from 2017 to 2021, and as president pro tempore from 2021 to 2023.
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Natasha Trethewey
- Enrolled in the University of Massachusetts - Amherst
- In 1995 graduated with Master of Fine Arts
- Occupations
- poetwriter
- Biography
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Natasha Trethewey is an American poet who served as United States Poet Laureate from 2012 to 2014. She won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for her 2006 collection Native Guard, and is a former Poet Laureate of Mississippi.
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Catherine Coleman
- Occupations
- engineerchemistastronautscientistair force officer
- Biography
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Catherine Grace "Cady" Coleman is an American chemist, engineer, former United States Air Force colonel, and retired NASA astronaut. She is a veteran of two Space Shuttle missions, and departed the International Space Station on May 23, 2011, as a crew member of Expedition 27 after logging 159 days in space.
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Edmund Gettier
- Occupations
- university teacherphilosopher
- Biography
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Edmund Lee Gettier III was an American philosopher at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is best known for his article written in 1963: "Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?", which has generated an extensive philosophical literature trying to respond to what became known as the Gettier problem.
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Frank Vatrano
- Occupations
- ice hockey player
- Biography
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Frank Vatrano is an American professional ice hockey player for the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, and New York Rangers.
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Jane Yolen
- Occupations
- editorscience fiction writerpoetwriterchildren's writer
- Biography
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Jane Hyatt Yolen is an American writer of fantasy, science fiction, and children's books. She is the author or editor of more than 400 books, of which the best known is The Devil's Arithmetic, a Holocaust novella. Her other works include the Nebula Award−winning short story "Sister Emily's Lightship", the novelette "Lost Girls", Owl Moon, The Emperor and the Kite, and the Commander Toad series. She has collaborated on works with all three of her children, most extensively with Adam Stemple.
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Koby Altman
- Occupations
- basketball coach
- Biography
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Koby Altman is the President of Basketball Operations of the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
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Sheila Bair
- Occupations
- businesspersoneconomistpoliticianuniversity teacherlawyer
- Biography
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Sheila Colleen Bair is an American former government official who was the 19th Chair of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) from 2006 to 2011, during which time she shortly after taking charge of the FDIC in June 2006 began warning of the potential systemic risks posed by the growing trend of subprime-mortgage-backed bonds, and then later assumed a prominent role in the government's response to the 2008 financial crisis. She was appointed to the post for a five-year term on June 26, 2006, by George W. Bush through July 8, 2011. She was subsequently the 28th president of Washington College in Chestertown, MD, the first female head of the college in its 234-year history, a position she held from 2015 until her resignation in 2017.
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Joseph Hooton Taylor
- Occupations
- astronomerNobel Prize winneruniversity teacherphysicistastrophysicist
- Biography
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Joseph Hooton Taylor Jr. is an American astrophysicist and Nobel Prize laureate in Physics for his discovery with Russell Alan Hulse of a "new type of pulsar, a discovery that has opened up new possibilities for the study of gravitation."
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Mohammed Fahmy
- Occupations
- writerjournalistopinion journalist
- Biography
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Mohamed Fadel Fahmy is an Egyptian-born Canadian journalist, war correspondent and author. He has worked extensively in the Middle East, North Africa, for CNN, BBC and Al Jazeera English.
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Abraham Serfaty
- Occupations
- engineerpolitician
- Biography
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Abraham Serfaty was an internationally prominent Moroccan Marxist-Leninist dissident, militant, and political activist, who was imprisoned for years by King Hassan II of Morocco, for his political actions in favor of democracy, during the Years of Lead. He paid a high price for such actions: fifteen months living underground, seventeen years of imprisonment and eight years of exile. He returned to Morocco in September 1999.
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John Edgar Wideman
- Occupations
- essayistwritercultural criticuniversity teachernovelist
- Biography
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John Edgar Wideman is an American novelist, short story writer, memoirist, and essayist. He was the first person to win the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction twice. His writing is known for experimental techniques and a focus on the African-American experience.
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Billy Taylor
- Occupations
- music educatorradio personalitycomposerjazz musicianuniversity teacher
- Biography
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Billy Taylor was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and from 1994 was the artistic director for jazz at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
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Leila Ahmed
- Occupations
- writeruniversity teacher
- Biography
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Leila Ahmed is an Egyptian-American scholar of women's studies and religion. In 1992 she published her book Women and Gender in Islam, which is regarded as a pioneering historical analysis of the position of women in Arab Muslim societies. She became the first professor of women's studies in religion at Harvard Divinity School in 1999, and has held the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Divinity chair since 2003. She was later awarded the Victor S. Thomas Research Professor of Divinity in 2020.
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Russell Alan Hulse
- Occupations
- astronomerastrophysicistresearcherphysicist
- Biography
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Russell Alan Hulse is an American physicist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics, shared with his thesis advisor Joseph Hooton Taylor Jr., "for the discovery of a new type of pulsar, a discovery that has opened up new possibilities for the study of gravitation".
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Cady Lalanne
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Cady Lalanne is a Haitian professional basketball player for the Busan KCC Egis of the Korean Basketball League (KBL). He played college basketball for the UMass Minutemen.
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Kelly Link
- Occupations
- writerscience fiction writerchildren's writernovelist
- Biography
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Kelly Link is an American editor and writer. Mainly known as an author of short stories, she published her first novel, The Book of Love in 2024. While some of her fiction falls more clearly within genre categories, many of her stories might be described as slipstream or magic realism: a combination of science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, and literary fiction. Among other honors, she has won a Hugo Award, three Nebula Awards, and a World Fantasy Award for her fiction, and she was one of the recipients of the 2018 MacArthur "Genius" Grant.
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Samuel Bowles
- Occupations
- university teachereconomist
- Biography
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Samuel Stebbins Bowles, is an American economist and Professor Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he continues to teach courses on microeconomics and the theory of institutions. His work belongs to the neo-Marxian (variably called post-Marxian) tradition of economic thought. However, his perspective on economics is eclectic and draws on various schools of thought, including what he and others refer to as post-Walrasian economics.
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Richard S. Sutton
- Occupations
- university teacherartificial intelligence researchercomputer scientistengineer
- Biography
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Richard S. Sutton FRS FRSC is a Canadian computer scientist. He is a professor of computing science at the University of Alberta and a research scientist at Keen Technologies. Sutton is considered one of the founders of modern computational reinforcement learning, having several significant contributions to the field, including temporal difference learning and policy gradient methods.
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Gail Collins
- Occupations
- journalist
- Biography
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Gail Collins is an American journalist, op-ed columnist and author, most recognized for her work with The New York Times. Joining the Times in 1995 as a member of the editorial board, she served as the paper's Editorial Page Editor from 2001 to 2007 and was the first woman to attain that position.
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Jeffrey Pollack
- Occupations
- entrepreneur
- Biography
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Jeffrey Pollack is an American sports executive and business consultant. After a brief career in politics, Pollack moved into the industry of sports business where he's held executive roles with the NBA, NASCAR, World Series of Poker, Professional Bull Riders, Los Angeles Chargers and XFL.
